Bunkaiia/Bàñkaïa
Bunkaiia (/ˈbəŋkaɪˈja/ BUNG-kay-yah), or officially Samaïubal Wàtoraïa là Bàñkaïa (literally: United People's Republic of Bunkaiia), is an Azanesian archipelago country in the Northern Indian Ocean. The capital of the 15-island country, Bungara, lies about 400 kilometres (250 mi) east of Socotra, Yemen and 735 kilometres east of the closest point from mainland East Africa, in Somalia. Other nearby countries and territories include Oman in the north, Kenya in the west, fellow Azanesian countries of Seychelles, Comoros, Mayotte & Réunion (the latter two are fully incorporated regions of France), Madagascar, and Mauritius all to the south; as well as the Maldives , the British Indian Ocean Territory and the contested Chagos Archipelago to the east. With a registered population of 391.213 - which is slightly above The Bahamanian and slightly below the French department of Guadelupe's population. The total land area of 7.594 km2 (2.932 sq mi) - which is more than the Palestinian Terrritories but less than Abkhazia or Puerto Rico. It has a population density of 51.5 people per km2 - placing it between Guinea or Iran and Cameroon, however most of the population lives on the South East coast of the main island. Bunkaiia is a member of the Alliance of Small Island States, ' African Union, the East African Community, Non-Aligned Movement, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the United Nations. After proclamation of independence from the United Kingdom in 1957, Bunkaiia has developed in the direction from a more agricultural-based society to a more tourism-based economy, with algae agriculture being supplanted by the rising service positions. Today, Bunkaiia boasts a relatively low nominal per capita GDP for an African or Azanesian nation. Despite this, it is one of only a handful of countries in Africa with a high Human Development Index. Extreme poverty in urbanized areas is non-existent and there is very little economic inequality, being the most efficient country in terms of wealth distribution in the world. Etymology Do the multicultural and ancient origins, the etymology of Bunkaiia is of uncertain origin, however many have attempted - and continue try to deduce it. In the notes to his translation of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periplus_of_the_Erythraean_Sea ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea], G.W.B. Huntingford remarks that the name Bunkaiia/Pankhaia is clearly not solely Greek in origin, but possibly a amalgamation between Sanskrit बाण [bana] (“arrow”) and either Ancient Greek γῆ [gê] or Γαῖα [ˈɡaɪ.ə] (“place, land, earth or personification thereof”) or Middle Persian �������� [gâta]'' or ���������� [ˈɡaɪ.o''] (“place/land” or “life”). Over the years though, alternative etymologies have been suggested, such as the Proto-Austroasiatic ''ban ''(“pack”) or Proto-Malayo-Polynesian ''banua, ''both meaning land, village, house, country, sky, heaven and the Proto-Austroasiatic ''kaya ''(“Force, Wealth or Power”) or even Proto-Ongan ''kaya ''(“mother). So the actual meaning could vary widely between “Land of Arrows”, “Powerful Arrow”, “Powerful House”,“Pack of Mothers”, “Mother Earth”, “Mother Country”, “Land of Life” and “Mother Heaven”. Flora & Fauna A number of endemic species of plants and wildlife inhabit the Bunkaiian archipelago due to its isolation and strictly vegetarian local human population. Fauna * The ''Lutuañi'' (also known as the Bunkaiian Frogbat, the Beach-Burrowing Bat, or the Little Night-Surfer) is a small bat species from the genus '''Mystacinidae. It's only remaining close relative, the Lesser Short-Tailed Bat (Mystacina tuberculata) lives in New Zealand. They spend much of the time on the ground, instead of flying, and are unique in having the ability to fold their wings into a leathery membrane when not in use. Another distinctive feature of the group is an additional shovel-shaped projection on some of the claws, which may aid in digging and/or limbing. They are opportunistic omnivorous, eating fruit and carrion in addition to ground- and beach-dwelling arthropods. They also eat pollen and nectar, which they are able to collect with their extensible tongues. They are known to predate on crabs, by repeatedly striking and pulling the legs off. They sometimes chew out burrows in rotting wood or dig shallow burrows along sandy beaches, roosting in rock crevices or even hijacking the burrows of small seabirds. * The Vebokai '''''is a relatively small and short-snouted horned scansorial-arboreal crocodillian from the genus '''Aldabrachampsus. '''It was closely related to the extinct ''Aldabrachampsus dilophus ''from the Aldabra Atolls. They tend to wait in the canopy before ambushing their prey from above. If needed they can use an asymmetrical bounding gait to gallop and chase down a prey, such as a Kouai as well. * The wombat-like '''''Kouai is the last remaining Sudamericid/'''Gondwanathere '''in the world and only native terrestrial mammal native to Bunkaiia. It primarily feeds on grasses and roots but will ocassionally feed on unfortunate arthropods, especially in its youth. The unique manner in which it procreates offers a "missing-link" bridge between the Monotremata and Marsupialia groups, in that the female lays an egg and then carries it in a pouch. Inside the pouch, Kouai teets' uterine milk ensures that the porous macrocithal egg does not dehydrate. Kouai pouches are equipped with a special sphincter muscle along the outer edge of the pouch opening. A mother Kouai uses this muscle almost like a drawstring, closing the opening tightly as it runs about. A similar sphincter muscle-system is used by Koalas to protect their joeys from falling out from their upside-down pouches, while it lives an arboreal lifestyle. The Pokémon line of Chancey is based on the Kouai, with its unique for a mammal egg-carrying trait. * Other notable animals include Dugongs, ...(to be continued) Fauna * Much of the Western half's coastal areas are covered in mangroves. Category:Fictional countries